Isa 47 | LSB | STEP | “Come down and sit in the dust, O virgin daughter of Babylon; Sit on the ground without a throne, O daughter of the Chaldeans! For you shall no longer be called tender and delicate.

‏ Isaiah 47

Lament for Babylon

1 “Come down and sit in the dust,
O virgin daughter of Babylon;
Sit on the ground without a throne,
O daughter of the Chaldeans!
For you shall no longer be called tender and delicate.
2 “Take the millstones and grind flour.
Uncover your veil, strip off the skirt,
Uncover the leg, cross the rivers.
3 “Your nakedness will be uncovered;
Your reproach also will be seen;
I will take vengeance and will not ^{▼▼Lit meet}spare a man.”
4 Our Redeemer, Yahweh of hosts is His name,
The Holy One of Israel.
5 “Sit silently, and go into darkness,
O daughter of the Chaldeans,
For you will no longer be called
The queen of kingdoms.
6 “I was furious with My people;
I profaned My inheritance
And gave them into your hand.
You did not show compassion to them,
On the aged you made your yoke very heavy.
7 “Yet you said, ‘I will be a queen forever.’
These things you did not put on your heart
Nor remember the outcome of ^{▼▼Lit it}them.
8 “So now, hear this, you sensual one,
Who sits securely,
Who says in ^{▼▼Lit her}your heart,
‘I am, and there is no one besides me.
I will not sit as a widow,
Nor know loss of children.’
9 “But these two things will come on you suddenly in one day:
Loss of children and widowhood.
They will come on you in full measure
In spite of your many sorceries,
In spite of the great might of your spells.
10 “You felt secure in your evil and said,
‘No one sees me,’
Your wisdom and your knowledge ^{▼▼Lit it has}have turned you astray;
So you have said in your heart,
‘I am, and there is no one besides me.’
11 “But evil will come on you
Which you will not know how to charm away;
And disaster will fall on you
For which you cannot atone;
And destruction about which you do not know
Will come on you suddenly.
12 “Stand fast now in your spells
And in your many sorceries
With which you have labored from your youth;
Perhaps you will be able to profit;
Perhaps you may cause trembling.
13 “You are wearied with your many counsels;
Let now the astrologers,
Those who behold visions by the stars,
Those who predict by the new moons,
Stand up and save you from what will come upon you.
14 “Behold, they have become like stubble,
Fire burns them;
They cannot deliver themselves from the power of the flame;
There will be no coal to warm by
Nor a fire to sit before!
15 “Thus they have become for you, those among whom you have labored,
Who have traded with you from your youth;
Each has wandered in his own ^{▼▼Lit side, region}way;
There is none to save you.